The Newsroom

R Madhavan today said that in Hollywood, writers are treated as superstars which is not the case with Bollywood. The actor hopes scribes and dialogue writers are rewarded equally for their work.

“In Hollywood, the screenplay writers, dialogue writers are treated as superstars and are paid well. It is a flourishing career there. Unfortunately, in Bollywood, the sad part is it is not rewarding,” he said.

Madhavan was speaking at a session — ‘Dawn of a new Entertainment era: Case study of ‘Breathe'” — at the FICCI Frames here, along with his co-star Amit Sadh, director Mayank Sharma, producer Vikram Malhotra and Vijay Subramaniam, the director-content for Amazon Prime Video, India.

Breathe is Madhavan’s debut web series that premiered on January 26 on Amazon Prime Video. The actor showered praises on the show’s writers for their research and hard work.

“For ‘Breathe’, the team of writers did a lot of research to get things right and accurate. They need a pat on the back, they need a fat pay cheque. The glory of the fact is that it has done well. But there is a fear as well, as it always happens after success. Now, if we put out something that is equally smart in the next six months. We need to match up to the first part and it is going to be tough. And if we fall short, the audience will not spare us.”

“The digital medium is vast, the films and TV have to worry about to up their game,” he added.

Madhavan recalled an incident where the immigration officials at an airport praised the series and were curious to know more about the show.

“The kind of response I have been getting from social media and my friends for ‘Breathe’ is manifold even as compared to the biggest hit films of my career. It has got me a different level of recognition and reverence, I have never experienced something like this before,” he said.

The Tanu Weds Manu actor, however, added that his fans in the South expressed their annoyance as he did not dub the show in Tamil.

His co-star from the web series, Amit Sadh, too, is overwhelmed with compliments. “I am not taking the appreciation to my head. I am humbled by this love. It is a great booster for me. Thanks to the makers to identify the change in audience (taste) and come up with the web series.

“It has been a great experience working with him (Madhavan). He is a big star but I did not see any lack of dedication for this web series,” Amit said. Breathe is an Indian drama series that explores the lives of ordinary men facing extraordinary circumstances.